The Flawless Empress - Chapter 091
“Chapter 091”
“He leaned down to kiss his wife.”
“As their lips touched, Chuyin whimpered in pain.”
“He had to stop, ‘Look what you’ve done.'”
“Chuyin retorted, ‘Wasn’t that long kiss just now enough?'”
“‘…Well, let’s do something else then.’ He lifted her and headed towards the bedroom.”
“He didn’t even ask about that matter.”
“After all his ‘interrogations’ before, now that the Winter Solstice had passed, he seemed to have forgotten about it.”
“Chuyin suddenly felt dissatisfied.”
“Didn’t he want to know why she was so apprehensive about the Winter Solstice?”
“Didn’t he want to know everything about her?”
“Did he truly care about her at all?”
“As she brooded, she felt a chill; her small jacket had been tossed to the foot of the bed by him.”
“Pouting, she complained, ‘Is this all you think about?'”
“……”
“He had been holding back for days; what was wrong with wanting this?”
“Lu Jingzhuo replied indifferently, ‘Yes, I do like this,’ skillfully undoing her undergarment and bending down to kiss her slender, white neck, ‘Ah Yin, it’s not like you didn’t know this about me.'”
“Hearing such a shameless remark, Chuyin couldn’t help but twist his arm.”
“Such a gesture had no effect on him and didn’t hinder his actions.”
“Chuyin couldn’t hold back any longer, ‘Have you forgotten something?'”
“Of course, he hadn’t forgotten, but he genuinely didn’t think it was that important.”
“‘You can tell me now,’ he whispered, kissing her shoulder.”
“Chuyin began, ‘Actually, I am… I am…'”
“Seeing her hesitation, he raised an eyebrow, ‘You’re not really…'”
“‘Really what?’ Chuyin’s eyes widened, ‘Has Your Majesty already guessed?'”
“Lu Jingzhuo wanted to say ‘a fox spirit,’ but feared it might embarrass him if he was wrong, so he replied, ‘You better tell me yourself.'”
“‘Your Majesty must be wondering why I cared so much about the Winter Solstice,’ Chuyin took a deep breath, ‘In my past life, I died on the day of the Winter Solstice, so I was very scared of not surviving this day.'”
“Past life?”
“So, she wasn’t some divine being…”
“But what did she mean by her past life? She died on the Winter Solstice?”
“No wonder she had been acting so oddly recently.”
“Lu Jingzhuo, recalling her fear of cold, her insistence on sending him and their eldest son off every day, and her desire to spend yesterday together, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. Gripping her arm, he asked, ‘Why didn’t you tell me earlier?'”
“She had been enduring this alone!”
“‘I didn’t know how to tell you…’ Chuyin asked softly, ‘Do you believe me now? Do you believe I’ve been reborn?'”
“‘Yes,’ he embraced her tightly, ‘I don’t know how I could not believe it.'”
“Only the concept of a past and present life could explain all her actions.”
“‘How did you die?’ he inquired.”
“‘I died of a cold in my past life; I was very frail, which is why in this life I’ve practiced martial arts and learned archery…’ she huffed, ‘You were initially so reluctant to teach me, you meanie.'”
“……”
“So her sudden coquettishness was not for any other reason, but because she had been reborn.”
“‘In your past life, were we close enough for you to act so spoiled around me immediately?'”
“Chuyin felt a sting in her heart. They had missed each other in that life; it was only after she became a spirit that she realized he had feelings for her. Puffing her cheeks, she said, ‘You were like a block of wood, never confessing your feelings until I died and realized it as a spirit.'”
“‘…I was like that in my past life?'”
“She gave him a look, ‘You’ve always been like that.'”
“……”
“Unable to refute, he changed the subject, ‘And what about the third prince?'”
“‘In the past life, he married the daughter of the Wei Kingdom’s duke and usurped Zhu’s throne after your demise.'”
“‘What?’ Lu Jingzhuo was outraged, ‘He dared to rebel?'”
“No wonder Chuyin didn’t want him to marry Sun Luqiu.”
“But it was surprising that Lu Jingrui harbored ambitions for the throne.”
“‘However, he’s changed. In the past life, he pretended to be a cripple to make the Emperor and Empress feel guilty. This life, after listening to me, he didn’t use his old injury to his advantage and likely won’t harbor thoughts of rebellion anymore.'”
“Lu Jingrui’s recent behavior indeed confirmed this.”
“He was completely subdued by Chuyin.”
“Staying in the capital as a prince wouldn’t pose any threat.”
“Lu Jingzhuo looked deeply at her, ‘You’ve done so much on your own, I don’t even know what to say.'”
“‘But if I had told you at the start, you would have thought I was crazy.'”
“That was true…”
“Lu Jingzhuo gently cupped her cheeks, ‘Ah Yin, you’ve worked so hard.'”
“He found it hard to imagine how she bore such a secret, striving to save her own life, protecting their children, while dealing with his suspicions, and…”
“Initially, he was quite resistant to her closeness, especially when she tried to get closer to him.”
“He kissed her lips guiltily.”
“Chuyin winced in pain again.”
“So, he moved to kiss other parts of her, every inch of her.”
“Like the gentle rains of March, moistening the petals.”
“She gradually curled up, almost overwhelmed by the intensity of his love.”
“Especially as his kisses moved lower and lower.”
“‘No, not yet cleaned…’ she uttered weakly, beginning to shy away.”
“But he was assertive, firmly holding her down on the bed, showing his acceptance through his actions.”
“Chuyin’s toes curled, her face flushing like a rose.”
“Towards the end, she almost cried out with a ‘whimper.'”
“Moving up from below, he saw her covering her face, unwilling to be seen, so he leaned in to kiss the back of her hand.”
“Chuyin muttered, ‘Why are you like this…'”
“‘Don’t you like it?’ he asked, pulling her hand away.”
“She closed her eyes, finding it difficult to look at him directly.”
“He whispered in her ear, ‘Ah Yin, it’s because I love you that I want to do this.'”
“In this life, he would no longer be indifferent.”
“‘Ah Yin, I love you, very much so.'”
“Her eyelashes trembled, and suddenly her eyes brimmed with tears.”
“As she opened her eyes, the tears slid down her cheeks and dropped onto the pillow.”
“‘Why are you crying?’ he asked, surprised.”
“With a tearful voice, she said, ‘Say it again.'”
“So she liked to hear it.”
“He repeated it several times close to her ear.”
“She felt as if she would melt in this sweetness.”
“He kissed the tears on her face and entered her slowly.”
“She clung to his neck, caressing his broad shoulders and solid back, as he nuzzled her cheek and ear with his nose, asking in a low voice if she liked him. She responded with ‘I do, very much,’ their emotions from both lives converging at this moment.”
“After making love for a while, they stopped but couldn’t sleep, not knowing who initiated it again, they repeated the intimate embrace until exhaustion.”
“It was only at dawn that they finally fell into a deep sleep.”
“The room was utterly quiet.”
Dongling glanced at the sun hanging in mid-sky, feeling a headache coming on.
The master had not gone to the Qianqing Palace for document review yesterday, as he had instructed beforehand. But there were no instructions yesterday, and he still hadn’t risen. Should Dongling check on him? Could the master be ill?
Manqing, seeing his dilemma, decided to reveal, “His Majesty only went to sleep at dawn.”
“What?”
What could have kept him awake so late?
Last night, around midnight, Dongling had clearly seen his master carrying the Empress to the inner chamber. What could have happened since then…?
Dongling covered his widely opened mouth.
It seemed he had underestimated the depth of the master’s feelings for the Empress!
Scratching his head, Dongling decided to attend to other matters first.
The two of them slept until noon.
Lu Jingzhuo hurriedly got up when he saw the bright sunlight through the window.
He worried that the memorials to the throne in the Qianqing Palace had piled up considerably.
But as he moved, Chuyin woke up too.
“Your Majesty…” she called out softly.
He gently smoothed her disheveled hair, “You sleep a little longer.”
After their numerous intimate encounters, she must be feeling sore all over.
At the time, they seemed to have ignored these concerns, only desiring to fuse their beings into each other’s bones and blood. Now, he regretted not restraining himself and letting Chuyin…
Back then, she was irresistible, like a charming and seductive fox spirit, ensnaring his soul. He willingly succumbed to her allure, letting her consume him.
“Should I call for Imperial Physician Liu to check on you later?” he asked.
Chuyin shook her head vigorously, “No…”
He had guessed as much.
She had refused to see a physician even when her throat was hoarse, too shy to do so.
“Is there any particular discomfort?”
Her face blushed slightly as she whispered, “A few days of rest should suffice. Please don’t let Imperial Physician Liu prescribe any medicine…” Last time it was for her throat, but this time it was different, “You don’t need to worry about this.”
“Alright,” he sat down beside the bed, touching her lips gently, “Does this still hurt?”
“It’s better now.”
Fortunately, she had swollen her lips earlier, and in their later fervor, they refrained from kissing, else she might have been unable to speak now.
Lu Jingzhuo smiled, leaned down to gently kiss her lips, deepening the kiss gradually.
But with state affairs weighing on his mind, he soon stopped and got up, saying, “I must go to the Qianqing Palace now.”
“Wait for me, I’ll see you out.”
“No need,” he replied, “You should sleep a bit more.”
She grasped his sleeve, “Just wait a moment for me, I’ll accompany you to the door, okay?”
“Can you walk with your legs?”
“Don’t underestimate me,” Chuyin playfully chided, calling the maidservants in to help her get ready.
Her legs were indeed sore, but today was a new day, a fresh start.
She just wanted to rise with him, share a meal, and personally see him off.
Sitting at the dressing table, Chuyin applied an exquisitely delicate makeup, styled her hair in a lotus-bun with a precious hairpin, glowing radiantly.
The man had already dressed in his bright yellow dragon robe. Together, they were a picture of perfect harmony.
They exchanged a smile and sat down to have their meal.
After a while, Lu Jingzhuo suddenly said, “In a few days, I will take you, along with Xiu’er and Zhen’er, on a hunting trip.”
It wasn’t unexpected.
“Great,” Chuyin sweetly responded, “Thank you, Your Majesty. Though, I’m not sure if my archery skills are good
“Before you go, let me teach you one more thing,” he recalled once refusing Chu Yin, “Apart from horseback riding, what else would you like to learn?”
“…Hidden weapons?”
He chuckled softly: “Alright.”
His agreement was so straightforward that Chu Yin added, “Let me think, there might be other things to learn.”
“Feel free to think, I will teach you everything.”
“Does Your Majesty really have that much free time?”
“Yes, I have time,” he looked at her, “Ah Yin, in my heart, you are as important as the empire.”
Chu Yin felt incredibly sweet inside, yet playfully complained, “Only as important? How annoying.”
“……”
He fell silent for a moment: “Then, where do I stand in your heart?”
Chu Yin fell silent, then after a while said, “Guess.”
“……”
The two of them talked and finished their meal.
Chu Yin escorted him out.
As they reached the door, he stopped, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her: “Ah Yin, I like you.”
“…” He had said this many times before.
He asked in a low voice: “I’m not emotionless anymore, am I?”
“No, you’re not,” she understood his meaning and whispered in his ear, biting it gently, “Your Majesty is now incredibly sweet-tongued, and I absolutely adore it.”
Satisfied, he released her and ascended his dragon chariot.
She watched him depart from the Kun Ning Palace.
It was a day without wind or waves, mundane, she thought, hoping every day in the future would be just as peaceful.
Plain yet filled with happiness.
Together, they desired to live to old age.
“End of the text.”